Killing in western Kenya may have been ritual murder: police

May 28, 2008 12:00 am

By , NAIROBI, May 28 – Police on Tuesday recovered the remains of a mutilated albino woman with missing organs, raising fears of a possible ritual killing.

The tongue, breasts, eyes and genitals had been chopped off from the body of the woman recovered in Borabu district, said area police commander Mwaura Njoroge.

"We have launched investigations into this issue that is very rare in this area," he said.

Early this year, remains of another mutilated albino woman from the same region were recovered in Tanzania missing some body organs.

Last week, a mob burnt to death 15 women accused of witchcraft in the same region.

In April, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete instructed police to step up the hunt for so-called witch-doctors involved in murders and to make provisions available so that all albinos in the country can be registered in order to increase security for them.

A Tanzanian albino group recently said it was being targeted by witch-doctors, following a string of murders.

In 2007, police reported several cases of people exhuming the freshly-buried bodies of infants to remove organs, in many cases the genitals, to make potions used in witchcraft rituals.